


Song of the Sea

by Aki (Akiko_Natsuko)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Courtship, Love, M/M, Merpeople, Questions, Sea God, haikyuu fantasy exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 11:45:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18828049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Aki
Summary: Tetsurō had ruled the sea for centuries and had long since abandoned the surface world for the wonders and secrets of the depths, until a song calls him to shore.





	Song of the Sea

 

 

   The sea danced beneath his fingers, a gentle swell rise and chasing the tip of his finger as he trailed it lazy patterns just above the surface. The waters were beautiful today, a gentle azure that shimmered beneath the summer sun, decorated with delicate white as a breeze swept around him, and once upon a time, it would have been enough to entrance him. He had lost days, weeks, even entire months at times, just gazing out over the waters, losing himself in its song as he drifted in its embrace, and even now he heard its call. But it was muted. No, not muted, he decided, tilting his head and listening to the waves as they kissed the edge of the sands, but changed, or maybe he was changed. His gaze drifted to the side, meeting golden eyes for the briefest of seconds before his companion glanced away, and his lips quirked into a smile as he realised that he was listening to a different song now.

    He must’ve made some kind of sound, whether of amusement or surprise, because golden eyes flickered back to him, wary but curious in a way that had been lacking before and he fell silent. He wanted to speak, to reach out, just as he had so many times before, but maybe he was learning to listen because he held still and quiet. His companion shifted uneasily, still wary even with his patience, glistening scales scraping across the sand before he sighed. Whispering under his voice in the same sing-song words that had caught his attention in the first place, before tilting his head to look at him directly and for the first time speaking up in the common tongue.

“What do you want with me?”

 _Now that is the question,_ Tetsurō mused, flicking his fingers into the air and lifting a swirling, orb of water from the sea and spinning it in front of him. He stared at it for a long moment, until it seemed to turn golden in the sunlight, and he laughed before letting the water fall back into the sea, before turning his gaze back to his companion.

  _What do I want?_

 It was a question that had haunted him for weeks and months, ever since the sound of singing had drawn him up out of the depths to this small group of islands. He had vague memories of this place, long days spent in blue waters and sprawled on golden sands. There had been a shrine here once, simple but well visited, trinkets left, and prayers uttered for a safe voyage. Some he had listened to, doing what he could to quell the storms and quiet the waters, and even now he wore some of the gifts they’d left him, beads woven into his hair, a simple shell bracelet. Others he had given to the waves, and the natural rhythm of life, as capricious in his choices as the waters that he ruled. That had been so long ago, that he barely recognised the islands.

    It had been a lifetime or two since he had surfaced at all. The sea held too many wonders in the deep places, and he had lost himself in his travels, becoming one with the swirls and eddies of the darkest waters. He had learned much there about his domain, but something had driven him to seek warmer waters, slowly rising towards the surface. It was then that he’d heard the words, in a language that he had never heard before, had been like a siren song calling him home, and he had followed it like a moth to a flame.

    He could hear it now if he closed his eyes, even when his companion was silent, and he heard it now as he lifted his head to meet golden eyes once more, before his gaze swooped lower, trailing over sun-kissed gold as Kozume’s tail twitched restlessly, splashing against the water and back up. “You,” the word slipped out before he’d fully decided what he was going to say, and he faltered for a moment, caught off guard for the first time in what must’ve been centuries. It wasn’t a lie, and taking a deep breath, he repeated more firmly. “You. Your company, your song…you.” The world seemed to still for a moment, the waves booming louder against the sand, a drum beat that accompanied his words, his power seeping out under the intensity of his feelings, a slip that hadn’t happened for a long time, and his lips quirked into a wry smile.

It seemed that many things had changed.

“And if I can’t give you that?” The quiet words, as musical in their own way as the song that called to him now broke through his thoughts. It didn’t dim his mood, because it didn’t sound like an outright refusal, but rather a challenge that was reflected in the suddenly intense gaze. He held it for several minutes, taking a moment to rein in his power once more and let the sea return to its own patterns, it also gave him the chance to consider his answer.

“Then that is your choice,” Tetsurō murmured finally, glancing out of the sea, watching as the sunlight danced on the waters. “I have always drifted, living by my whims and choices, it would be wrong for me to tell someone else that they can not do the same. But…”

“But?”

“I would at least like the opportunity to change your mind.” The wry smile, shifted, becoming softer and turning back he met Kozume’s gaze. “And win your heart.” There was a flicker then, like a candle in a ship’s lantern. Not agreement, or denial. Interest. Wary interest and Tetsurō raised his hand once more, holding it out towards the sea and closing his eyes.

    This time he reached beyond the waves, beyond gentle blue and dancing surf, power surging out, and riding the tips of dancing waves and following them as they surged and crashed into the surface of the waters. Chasing them beneath gentle breezes, and winds that threatened to grow stronger, singing with the promise of storms to come, until finally, he brushed against distant sands. He could see them in his mind’s eye, glittering and pale beneath the sun, and yet paling in comparison to the glistening gold beside them. He had spent his youth on those beaches, and while time and tide had passed since then, he still knew them, and it was easy enough to follow the curves of white sand, shifting over pebbles and footprints until…

_There…_

    His power curled around his prize, pulling into the waves and wrapping it in a protective orb of magic and calling it to him. It slipped beneath the surface, rushing towards him and he opened his eyes and smiled. “Will you allow me that honour?” He asked, discarding the distant memory of his father telling him that they ruled. That they ordered and demanded. It was little more than the trickle of a stream in the back of his mind, lost to the roar of the waves as they brought his prize towards him, and to the song that burst around him for a moment. It took him a second to realise that this wasn’t a memory, but that Kozume was singing. A joyous burst of sound, more beautiful than the waves dancing on the sands, or whale song. It was an answer in and of itself, and all too brief, but then Kozume moved, shifting across the sand and slowly, cautiously reaching out to grasp his hand.

“I will give you that chance.” It was in common this time, and Tetsurō almost missed it, lost in the wonder of the gentle touch. However, just as the final word came, a song even in common, the water just off the beach swirled in on itself, before parting as just like earlier a shimmering orb of water rose from the depths. Using his free hand he gestured, calling it closer until it was able to drop its precious burden into his waiting hand, splashing them both in water and he half expected Kozume to pull away then. Instead, he laughed, the tinkling of water on rocks and flicked his tail, splashing more water towards them both, before expectant eyes landed on his other hand, and he smiled.

“Then take this as a token,” Tetsurō said, holding out the gift, please to see golden eyes widen with delight as they landed on the shell cradled in his fingers. It was white and cream on the outside, and the most delicate pink inside, and as he held it out, the sun caught flecks of silver, seeming to bathe it in an unearthly glow. “And a promise.” He waited with bated breath, swallowing back a noise of protest when released him, glad that he had when he reached out, taking the shell in trembling fingers and offering him a small smile.

“Thank you.”

 


End file.
